BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is an underside plan view of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is an enlargement of a portion of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is an end view of the present invention in use;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the present invention in use; and
FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view taken at line 6-6 of FIG. 5.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7A is a cross sectional view broken away of the trowel shown in FIG. 7.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
As shown in FIG. 1 a trowel 10 includes a rectangular planar member 12 which is generally formed of metal or other material such as rigid plastic. The member 12 includes a first planar side 14 and a second planar side 16. Attached to the second side 16 is a handle 18 which extends parallel to first and second edges 22 and 24. Second edge 24 includes a cylinder 26 which has a plurality of evenly spaced uniform grooves 28. Each groove will have a width and a depth. The width and depth of all the grooves 28 should be the same and constant, as can be seen from FIG. 3. Generally, the distance between grooves is equal to the width of the grooves.
The grooves 28 in cylinder 26 should extend from below said first side 14 and, preferably, should extend around and up to or above said second side. As shown, the grooves 28 in cylinder 26 extend 360°, which is optimal. Likewise, a cylinder is shown. As described later, a partially formed cylinder will function. For purposes of the present invention, any grooved curved surface can be used in place of the grooved cylinder 26. The grooves have a constant depth so that an even amount of mastic or adhesive is applied regardless of the angle of the trowel during application. Further the grooves extend only partially through the cylinder 26. If they extended through the central access of cylinder 26, at certain angles excess mastic would be applied.
The cylinder 26 can be formed from plastic or metal. Generally, it will be a solid cylinder with the grooves 28 formed around the cylinder. As shown in FIG. 4, an axial groove 34 is formed in the cylinder 26 and the second edge 24 of trowel 10 is fixed within the axial groove 34. This can be held in position with adhesive or can be welded for a metal to metal fit.
The trowel 10 is used to apply adhesive 42 onto a surface 38. For use in the present invention, any adhesive may be used, particularly those used to apply tile, linoleum and other surface coverings to walls and floors. Generally, the adhesives are relatively viscous materials and will include flooring adhesives, tile adhesives including cementitious type tile adhesives commonly referred to as Thinset.
To apply the adhesive, one grasps the handle 18 of the trowel 10 and spreads adhesive loosely to the floor using the first edge 22. This will provide an uneven coating of adhesive on the surface 38. One then spreads the adhesive out into rows 46, using the cylinder 26.
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, this will result in a uniform coating of parallel rows of adhesive on surface 38. As shown in FIG. 4, the same amount of adhesive will be applied regardless of the angle 50a or 50b of the trowel 10 or member 12 relative to the surface 38. Once the adhesive is applied to the floor surface 38, the surface covering material, such as tile, linoleum, or parquet, can be applied to the surface 38.
An alternative embodiment of the trowel of present invention is shown in FIG. 7. In this embodiment, the cylinder 26 is replaced with an elongated member 50 which provides a curved surface along the edge 24 of trowel 10. The curved surface includes grooves 52 which are the same as the grooves 28 in FIG. 1. The curved grooved member 50 includes a planar surface 54 that seats on the bottom surface 14 of the trowel. This is fastened to the trowel with a fastening strip 56 with countersunk screws 58 extending through the fastening strip 56 through the edge of the trowel into the curved groove member 50. This provides the same advantages of the trowel shown in FIGS. 1-5 but facilitates attachment of the curved grooved member 50 to the edge of the trowel. It provides for the grooved surface extending from below the bottom surface 14 of the trowel to above the upper surface 16 of the trowel. It should be noted that the grooves do not have to extend all the way to the bottom surface 14 since it would actually be impossible for one to apply grout or mastic with the portion of the grooved member 50 immediately adjacent to the bottom surface 14. The grooves need to start about 10 to 20° from the bottom surface 14 and simply extend up to or above the surface 16 to work best in the present invention.
This allows an inexperienced individual to apply the same amount of adhesive uniformly across a surface 38. This will, in turn, insure that the appropriate amount of adhesive is applied. This will be determined by selecting a trowel 10 with the appropriate sized grooves 28 in the cylinder 26. Using trowel 10 insures that the there is adequate adhesive at all locations so that the surface covering material does not separate from the surface 38 or even, in certain circumstance, break due to lack of adhesive under certain localize portions.
This has been a description of the present invention along with the preferred method of practicing the present invention. However, the invention itself should only be defined by the appended claims, WHEREIN
Patent Application
20080011428
